Immigrants enter college with appetite for success

This story shows how motivated the immigrant children are to succeed in college. Many people think these kids are never going to amount to anything and this disproves that theory. DP

By Mercedes Olivera, The Dallas Morning News
Dallasnews.com: About a year ago, Ruben Saenz noticed something different about the Hispanic freshmen entering Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch.

Many of them – the children of Mexican immigrants or immigrants themselves – "seem to value higher education more than those born here, and their grade levels are so much higher than native-born Latinos," said Mr. Saenz, head of student development at the college.

Perhaps the responsibility of succeeding is so heavy on their shoulders that they see no other option. "The worst is behind them," he said. "They have sacrificed their lives or seen their parents do it. They have an appetite for getting ahead."

It's long been known that Latinos who immigrate tend to be among the most industrious and entrepreneurial in their communities. Now they appear to be among the most academically ambitious, too.

And so it is that Mr. Saenz expects Brookhaven College to reach a major milestone next month – 25 percent of its student enrollment will be Hispanic. This will allow it to qualify for millions of new federal dollars as a Hispanic-serving institution.

It will join other colleges within the Dallas County Community College District – Mountain View with 45 percent, El Centro with 28.5 percent, and Eastfield with 26 percent – that surpassed that magic number several years ago.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.